Homeschoolers Included in New Scholarships

Senior Counsel Dee Black answers questions and assists members with legal issues in Tennessee. He and his wife homeschooled their children. Read more >>

By virtue of the enactment of Senate Bill 2471 on May 12, 2014, the Tennessee General Assembly created a new college scholarship program known as the “Tennessee Promise Scholarship Act of 2014.” To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be enrolled full-time in a public or private postsecondary institution located in Tennessee in the fall term following graduation from high school (including a home school) or obtaining a GED or HiSET diploma. In addition to completing an application for the scholarship for the initial year of enrollment, the student must also complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) each academic year in which he or she seeks to receive the Tennessee Promise Scholarship.

A Tennessee Promise Scholarship at a public two-year postsecondary institution or college of applied technology is the cost of tuition and mandatory fees less other grants and scholarships (gift aid) received by the student. The amount of the scholarship at an eligible four-year public or private college is the average cost of tuition and mandatory fees at the public two-year institutions less all other gift aid. The scholarship payments continue until the student has earned a diploma or associate’s degree or the sum of the years attended equals 2½ years, whichever occurs first. To continue to receive the state scholarship at an eligible two-year or four-year postsecondary institution, a student must maintain a 2.0 grade point average. A student enrolled in a college of applied technology must maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the college.

Scholarship recipients must participate in mentoring and community service programs under regulations of the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, which will administer the scholarship program when it goes into effect on July 1, 2015.

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